356 



SKETCH OF THK CONIFEKS OF JAPAN. 



slight tinge of greenisli primrose yellow. Seeds (fig. 73) wedge- 

 shaped at the base, ■with a broad transverse wing obliquely 



Fig. 73, 



Fig. 74. 



truncate at the top, so as to be sub-triangular with the whole of 

 the back, and a large part of the inferior side invested with the 



epidermis of the wing, the shell or testa membranaceous, 

 ledons 4-5 (fig. 74). 



Coty 



It is found from the south of Kiusu, by Sikok and Nippon, to 

 the Kurile Islands, and may thus be assumed to extend over 

 the whole of the empire of Japan. It grows at an elevation 

 of from 2000 to 4000 feet above the level of the sea. Siebold in- 

 forms us that at its southernmost limit it is probably cultivated, 

 and not wild, except in humid valleys, or on the mountain 

 Jwaga, near Nagasaki, where it is found at about 1800 feet above 

 the sea. It is found more frequently in the southern provinces 

 of Nippon, particularly in those of Suruga, Kei, Sinano, Idsu, 

 and from thence to the north in the provinces of Mutsu and 

 Dewa, preferring an altitude of from 9000 to 3000 feet above the 

 sea, "But," adds Siebold, "the fir which forms extensive 

 forests in Jezo, Iterup, and Krafto, and which the Ainos call 

 Futsiip, appears different as well from this (the Momi), as from 



the Abies sihlrica, Ledeb., which is spread over the north-east of 

 Asia," 



^ Siebold further informs us that the botanists of Japan dis- 

 tinguish several varieties of it. The most recognisable are the 

 To momi of the north of China, the Jezo momi, introduced from 

 Jezo, and the Nire momi. The last is known by its leaves being 

 shorter and more deeply emarginate at their tip, and its cones 



